JUCO golf: Warriors roll to win at Western Illinois Intercollegiate

Apr. 12—SILVIS, Ill. — It was the third tournament of last spring that the Indian Hills men's golf team used to as a springboard to a national championship run.

Head coach Michael Wetrich isn't quite ready to say that history is about to repeat itself. The Warriors, however, looked every bit like a team capable of defending its national title just across the Mississippi River from their home state last weekend.

Gaspar Glaudas set the pace early for the Warriors, posting rounds of 68 and 67 on the opening 36-hole day at the Western Illinois Intercollegiate building a commanding lead heading into Saturday's final round. The nation's top-ranked golfer closed out both an impressive run to the individual title with a three-under-par round of 68, closing the tournament at 10-under-par, and an impressive run for the Warriors to their first team championship of the spring as Indian Hills finished with a three-round total of 859 (+7) to wrap up their third tournament of the season beating Northern Iowa by 22 strokes.

"We came here playing well on a great golf course knowing we were playing well," Wetrich said. "I don't know if there's any correlation between last year and this year. There's a lot of new guys. It's a brand new team.

"It was good to see that, with all the work they put in during the winter and all the work they've put during practice outside since late February, that things are starting to come together for them."

The fourth-ranked Warriors went wire-to-wire to win on the home course of the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, following up an even-par 284 on the first 18 holes played last Friday with a three-under-par 281 coming as other teams struggled to finish out a long day on the course. All six Warrior golfers moved into the top 10 after the first two rounds of the tournament with Glaudas and IHCC teammate Jose Carletta owning the top two spots on the leaderboard heading into the final round.

"We really stressed getting off to a good start and maintaining your round," Wetrich said. "Those 36-hole days are long. You're going to be out on the course for a long time, so you can't afford to get too high or too low throughout the rounds. You just need to maintain a level head and try to save as many shots out there as you can."

Opening the final round with a six-stroke lead over Carletta, Glaudas came out aggressive on Saturday recording back-to-back birdies on the first two holes opening a seven-stroke advantage. Carletta, meanwhile, faded back into a tie for sixth after struggling on the front nine with four bogeys before shooting four-over on the back nine, finishing with a final round of 78 and a three-round total of 219.

Fortunately for the Warriors, Emilio Arellano Lamas helped counter the struggles of his freshman teammate. The newcomer from Mexico posted his best finish yet for Indian Hills with birdies on the second and eighth holes helping Arellano Lamas stay even for the day thru the first 16 holes, moving up the leaderboard by staying consistent despite windy, cold conditions that left other players scrambling to save shots.

Despite a bogey on the 17th, Arellano Lamas finished his off a one-over-par round of 72 with par on the 18th. The overall four-over-par three-round total of 217 allowed Arellano Lamas to finish fifth overall in the tournament.

"The course is so good and the conditions were tough. It was just too windy and cold, so I'm happy with the results," Arellano Lamas said. "I've been practicing very hard throughout school. I'm very satisfied with where I'm at."

Glaudas, however, stood out at the head of the class throughout the tournament. Despite conditions that only got tougher throughout the tournament, the sophomore from France rolled in 14 birdies to lead all players and finished five-under-par on the long par 5's ultimately finishing as the only player to break par for the tournament beating Pablo Riveiro of Chicago State by 12 strokes adding birdies on the 14th and 16th to move 10 strokes above par for the tournament.

"It was a really good final round. I just played some really good golf and made some putts," Glaudas said. "My goal was to get to 10-under, so I'm glad I did that."

Indian Hills teammates Jose Miguel Ramirez and Maximilian Morgenstern finished tied for 15th at nine-over-par for the tournament with scores of 222. Shinju Aoki finished inside the top 20 despite struggling to the finish with a six-over final round of 78, wrapping up a three-round total of 223 (+10).

"Learning how to win golf tournaments as a team is a totally different concept," Wetrich said. "Being able to do that going up against four-year schools is only going to build their confidence. It shows where they really are with their games and continue to grow. Hopefully, we can continue to build off that."

Indian Hills has one more tournament left before postseason play begins. The Warriors make the long drive out to Ohio to compete in Sylvania at the Highland Meadows Intercollegiate starting on Monday.

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.